Uninsured Cardiff landlord faces £60,000 bill after fire

A Cardiff landlord has spoken of his ‘naivity’ after he unwittingly let his property to criminals who grew cannabis plants. The house caught fire last week, gutting most of the building. It will cost an estimated £60,000 to repair the property, according to Wales Online.

The landlord – web developer Obi Ljeoma – was under the impression he had let the property to four individuals, and had no idea it was being used to grow illegal drugs.

The precise cause of the fire is yet to be established, but fire fighters at the scene discovered amateur electrical wiring and numerous cannabis plants.

“The rent kept coming in regularly, so I thought everything was fine. I now realise it was pretty naive of me,” said Ljeoma.

He warned other landlords to keep a close watch on how their properties were being used.

Berkshire-based Ljeoma had purchased the Cardiff property a decade ago for his son who was studying in the Welsh capital. More recently he had unwittingly rented the property to the cannabis growers for 18 months, but had not experienced any trouble.

His intention had been to redevelop the house into flats.

“I’m not put off from renting properties, but I will be a lot more cautious in future,” said Ljeoma.

Ljeoma did not have insurance on the property.

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